A&M's Adams 'Flies' to Victory; Cal Alum Adrian Punches Ticket

Texas A&M sophomore Cammile Adams earned a spot on the U.S. Olympic swimming team with a dominating win in the 200-meter butterfly at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials on Friday.

Adams, from Cypress, Texas, grabbed the victory by more than a second with a time of 2:06.52. She trailed eventual runner-up Kathleen Hersey by .16 at the 150-meter mark, but closed with a final 50 split of 32.82 to cruise to the victory. Aggie teammate Caroline McElhany took fifth in the race with a time of 2:09.90.

"(Texas A&M head coach) Steve (Bultman) really likes us to swim our own race and swim your own strategy," Adams said. "I just tried to take it out as easy as I could the first 100. I knew those girls were going to be there. They're such great competitors. I just feel so lucky to even be in the same heat with them. My plan was to swim my own race and just come back that fourth 50 and leave it all in the pool. I feel great. I'm just so excited."

Bultman said Adams followed the game plan to perfection, and took advantage of her superior ability to finish races.

"She swam a really good and really smart race," Bultman said. "Cammile isn't a sprinter, but nobody finishes a race like she does. I told her that there would probably be people ahead of her at the 50, 100 and 150 mark, but she stayed with the plan and got home first. They don't give you Olympic trips for being first at the 50, 100 or 150 mark."

Adams becomes the second Aggie to make the U.S. Olympic swim team at the 2012 Trials, joining sophomore teammate Breeja Larson who won the 100 breaststroke on Wednesday. Adams and Larson are the first two Aggies to make the U.S. Olympic swim team in an individual event. Christine Marshall made the 2008 U.S. Olympic team with the 800 free relay.

"This has been a dream of mine ever since I can remember," Adams said. "Like Missy [Franklin] said, ‘Dreams really do come true.' I can't even tell you how excited I am."

Soon after Adams' epic race, Larson was back in the pool in the semifinals of the 200 breaststroke. She advanced to Saturday's final as the No. 7 seed in a time of 2:26.95. Joining her in the final are Rebecca Soni, Micah Lawrence, Andrea Kropp, Laura Sogar, Amanda Beard, Caitlin Leverenz and Haley Spencer.

Former Cal superstar Nathan Adrian won the 100-meter freestyle final to qualify for two Olympic events on Friday night at the U.S. Olympic Trials at the CenturyLink Center. The California alumnus – who clocked a time of 48.10 – clinched berths in the 100 free and in the 400-free relay in London. This marks the second Olympics for Adrian, who won a relay gold medal in the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing.